Finding a Marketing Dissertation Topic in 2026: Top Tips and Proven Resources

Struggling to find a good marketing dissertation topic? You're not alone. Every year, I prepare a guide for my master's students on how to find a good marketing dissertation topic. This year is no exception. This guide equips you with actionable strategies and useful resources to land a relevant and interesting marketing topic and ace your dissertation.

Uncover Cutting-Edge Research Priorities:

• Marketing Science Institute (MSI) Research Priorities: The MSI publishes every three years what they call their research priorities. This group comprises academics and marketing practitioners, and identified several themes. The latest version of the Marketing Research Priorities report outlines key themes like marketing analytics and AI, consumer experiences, innovation and the integration of AI in different organisational ecosystems. Identify research questions experts deem crucial and that you could potentially develop in your dissertation. All you need to do next is to choose an interesting context (e.g. fashion / tech ...etc).

Let existing Literature Reviews and Editors of Journals do the heavy lifting:

• Spot Research Gaps: Explore literature reviews in top journals or look for the topic that interests you on Google Scholar and add the keyword "literature review". Ideally you want to find something recent (in this case 2025 to now). Most literature reviews will identify research gaps, and many of them will also suggest some research questions.
• Special Issues in Journals: Many Journals run their own special issues on different topics. These topics tend to be timely and where more research is needed. A good start could be Psychology & Marketing, you can scroll down to their Special Issue section and click on one that interests you and they would normally have also some suggested research questions or areas to focus your research.

So for example the Psychology of Agentic AI: Autonomy, Identity, and Human–Agent Symbiosis Call for Papers (CfP) has the following questions:

• How does customer psychology change when AI tools transition from passive assistants (copilots) to proactive teammates that execute tasks autonomously?
• What's the persuasive impact of hyper-personalised generated content (e.g., ads, sales emails, service scripts) that is dynamically created for a single customer in real-time? Does this create new forms of algorithmic vulnerability by eroding critical defences?
• What is the optimal customer control (i.e., what customers can see, change, and override) to support trust without creating cognitive overload? How does repeated delegation affect customers' self-efficacy and decision confidence over time?
• How do customers and employees respond to agents equipped with "large behavioural models" (LBMs) capable of sensing emotions and executing physical tasks with empathy?
• Individual Differences and Contextual Moderators: How do personality traits (e.g., need for cognition, technophobia), cultural background, age, or digital literacy moderate consumers' responses to agentic AI?
• How must branding and persuasion theory adapt when the "buyer" is a rational, utility-maximizing agent rather than a human?
• How do humans manage their own AI agents? What personality, ethical, or brand preference parameters will they set?
• How does the role identity of frontline employees change when they are empowered to train and fine-tune service robots via no-code platforms?
• What are the cognitive and emotional demands on managers who must orchestrate cross-functional agentic teams rather than manage human subordinates? And how do these demands affect their sense of role identity, self-efficacy, and well-being?
• What are the new team structures, workflows, and management challenges for a hybrid Human–AI workforce? What new forms of technostress or role stress arise when your teammate or manager is an algorithm?
• Can agentic AI be designed to proactively nudge customers toward better financial, health, or sustainable choices, acting as a guardian rather than just a servant?
• How can service robots and AI be designed to reduce customer vulnerability? (e.g., as companions for the elderly, as financial literacy AI for low-income customers, as accessibility tools for customers with disabilities).

 In addition every special issue already provides some relevant literature that you might want to examine.

Tap into the Expertise of Calls for Papers:

• Journals tend to have Calls for papers (a bit similar to special issues) where they outline themes the journal is looking more research about.
• Facebook Group: Join "Marketing Calls for Papers" on Facebook for a continuous stream of relevant research opportunities.

Beyond the Topic: Crafting a Stellar Dissertation

• Embrace Theoretical Contribution: Students very often get carried away by the context, but forget this is an academic world, and if you're looking for a distinction you need to make a theoretical contribution. So go beyond merely focusing on a context (e.g. influencers, or immersive tech) but also consider what happens in that context, the phenomenon. Your study should also be examined from a theoretical lens, demonstrating your engagement with existing theories and highlighting your unique contribution. If you're not sure about what a theory is, you can look at this other article I have prepared.
• Contextual vs. Theoretical Gaps: While exploring new contexts (e.g., TikTok research) is valuable, prioritise identifying a theoretical gap for an impactful contribution.
• Pursue Your Passion: Consider a context relevant to your future career aspirations, be it fintech or fashion marketing. Integrate this element into your dissertation for added significance.

Remember, a captivating topic is just the starting point. Embrace the research process, refine your ideas, and aim for a dissertation that not only meets academic standards but also makes a meaningful contribution to the field.